A Thorn By Any Other Name Will Hurt Just As Much

One of the aspects of political correctness that makes it so insidious is the manipulation of language. The term itself”political correctness”implies a wrong and a right way of looking at things. There are no differing opinions, each served by facts and data; there is only the right way and the wrong way. Wherever political correctness has gained a foothold, the first thing that came under assault were the words people used.

It’s everywhere today. “Illegal alien” has been replaced with the more benign-sounding “undocumented worker.” You see? He’s not a law breaker, he just doesn’t have his papers. For young people today it’s probably difficult to imagine when people said “I’m black and I’m proud.” “Black” has fallen out of favor, replaced by the awful and clunky “African-American.” “Handicapped” people are now “differently able.” “And since “global warming” really isn’t working out quite like they expected, it’s now “climate change.”

What the merchants of PC groupthink understand is that controlling the language controls the debate. Today we’re seeing this with health care reform. Nancy Pelosi has decided, correctly, that the “public option” has become synonymous with “government-run health care,” and “government-run health care” is synonymous with “socialized medicine,” and “socialized medicine” is synonymous with “really bad health care.” What to do, what to do…

The solution, of course, is to change the language. If the tree is bearing poisonous fruit, you can change the name of the tree from “Poison Fruit Tree” to, say, “deliciously good fruit tree.” People will then merrily pluck and eat the fruit because, after all, progressives like Pelosi think that we’re all a bunch of stupid rubes.

According to the Associated Press, Pelosi wants to change the name of the “public option” to the “competitive option” or the “consumer option.” Well that makes all the difference! Quick, hand me some of that deliciously good fruit while I wait for the doctor to see me!

Quoth Nancy:

“You’ll hear everyone say, ‘There’s got to be a better name for this,'” Pelosi said. “When people think of the public option, public is being misrepresented, that this is being paid for with their public dollars.”

Pelosi said that was a misconception and that any taxpayer money used to start up the public option would be repaid. She also said such an option would ultimately drive down government health care costs.

Note to Nan: Every single thing government does is paid for with our public dollars. Every $500 hammer ordered by the Pentagon, every bloated bureaucrat’s salary, every “Your Stimulus At Work” road sign, every piece of tile in the Capitol’s ladies room, every blade of grass on the Washington Mall, every piece of junk mail you send to your constituents, every benefit in your Congressional benefits package, every dime you put into the bank from your salary, every trip home to your district in your Congressional jet, every flight on Air Force One, every stimulus check that’s sent to the recently deceased, every first-time home buyer’s tax credit…my God, the list is endless. Everything you do is paid for with our money. Washington D.C. is a city that would turn into a ghost town overnight if not for taxpayer dollars.

The whole notion that the government is going to set up a plan to insure millions of people and administer that plan out of offices in Washington D.C. and that it won’t cost the public anything is ridiculous. It’s beyond patronizing; it’s absolutely insulting. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Every bleat that comes out of Pelosi’s mouth is an insult to people whose thoughts extend past the bumper stickers on their cars.

So go ahead, Nan. Change the name. Call it the “competitive option” or the “consumer option.” You can call it “Gypsy Sun and Rainbows” if that’s really what you want. You’re not fooling anyone.